^10:4On the twenty-fourth day of the first month⁷ I was beside the great river, the Tigris.⁸^10:5I looked up⁹ and saw a¹⁰ man¹¹ clothed in linen;¹² around his waist was a belt made of gold from Upaz.¹³^10:6His body resembled yellow jasper,¹⁴ and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches;¹⁵ his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice¹⁶ thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd.

^10:7Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it.¹⁷ On the contrary, they were overcome with fright¹⁸ and ran away to hide. ^10:8I alone was left to see this great vision. My strength drained from¹⁹ me, and my vigor disappeared;²⁰ I was without energy.²¹^10:9I listened to his voice,²² and as I did so²³ I fell into a trance-like sleep with my face to the ground.

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Footnotes

7 The first month would be the month of Nisan, during which Passover was observed.
8 The Hebrew text has חִדָּקֶל (hiddaqel). “Tigris” appears here in the , since it is the Greek name for this river. Elsewhere in the OT “the great river” refers to the Euphrates (e.g., Gen 15:18; Josh 1:4), leading some interpreters to think that a mistake is involved in using the expression to refer to the Tigris. But it is doubtful that the expression had such a fixed and limited usage. The , however, does render the word here by “Euphrates” (. perat) in keeping with biblical usage elsewhere.
9 Heb “I lifted up my eyes.”
10 Heb “one.” The Hebrew numerical adjective is used here like an English indefinite article.
11 The identity of the messenger is not specifically disclosed. Presumably he is an unnamed angel. Some interpreters identify him as Gabriel, but there is no adequate reason for doing so.
12 The Hebrew word בַּדִּים (baddim) is a plural of extension. See §124.a, b, c and 2: §136.c.
13 The location of this place and even the exact form of the Hebrew name אוּפָז (’ufaz) are uncertain. Apparently it was a source for pure gold. (See Jer 10:9.) The Hebrew word פָז (paz, “refined gold” or “pure gold”) is more common in the OT than אוּפָז, and some scholars emend the text of Dan 10:5 to read this word. Cf. also “Ophir” (1 Kgs 9:28; Isa 13:12; Job 22:24; 28:16).
14 The Hebrew word translated “yellow jasper” is תַּרשִׁישׁ (tarshish); it appears to be a semiprecious stone, but its exact identity is somewhat uncertain. It may be the yellow jasper, although this is conjectural. Cf. , “chrysolite”; , “beryl.”
15 Heb “torches of fire.”
16 Heb “The sound of his words” (cf. v. 9).
17 Heb “the vision.”
18 Heb “great trembling fell on them.”
19 Heb “did not remain in.”
20 Heb “was changed upon me for ruin.”
21 Heb “strength.”
22 Heb “I heard the sound of his words.” These words are absent in the and the .
23 Heb “as I listened to the sound of his words.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.

Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. The men who were with me did not see it, but a great terror fell on them, and they ran and hid. I was left alone, looking at this great vision. No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless. I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

NLTNew Living Translation

On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And then on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I myself was on the bank of the great river; that is, the Tigris. And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and there was a man, and he was dressed in linen, and his waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz. Now his body was like turquoise, and his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like torches of fire, and his arms and his legs were like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude. And I saw, I, Daniel alone, the vision; and the people who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great trembling fell upon them and they fled in order to hide themselves. And I myself, Daniel, alone saw this great vision, and as a result no strength was left in me and my complexion grew deathly pale, and I did not retain any strength. And I heard the sound of his words, and when I heard the sound of his words I myself began falling into a trance on my face, with my face to the ground.

KJV 1900King James Version

And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

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